January 2026 - Middle-East - lists.icann.org

ICANN85 Prep Week Schedule Now Available
by Fahd Batayneh Jan. 27, 2026

Jan. 27, 2026

https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann85-prep-week-schedule-n… Today, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced the ICANN85 Prep Week schedule. The schedule consists of 12 sessions to prepare the ICANN community for the ICANN85 Community Forum taking place 7–12 March 2026 in Mumbai, India. ICANN85 Prep Week will be held Monday, 23 February to Wednesday, 25 February 2026. Sessions will be conducted in English and will feature remote simultaneous interpretation in French and Spanish. To attend any of the sessions, please register<https://events.icann.org/icann85/registration> for ICANN85. After registering, you will receive an email confirmation with additional event details. Please visit the ICANN85 website<https://meetings.icann.org/en/meetings/icann85/> to view the Prep Week schedule details. Remote participation links will be published 24 hours before the start time of each session. Session materials, recordings, and transcripts will be published on the website as they become available. Date Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) ICANN85 Prep Week Session Monday, 23 February 2026 14:30–16:00 Review of Reviews and CCG Update 16:30–17:30 Policy Implementation: What's New and What's Next 18:00–19:00 ICANN Planning and Finance Update 19:30–20:30 Contractual Compliance Update Tuesday, 24 February 2026 15:00–16:00 Geopolitical, Legislative, and Regulatory Developments Update 16:30–17:30 Policy and Advice Update 18:00–19:00 Preparing for ICANN's Annual Strategy Evaluation 19:30–20:30 ICANN Board Engagement with the ICANN Community Wednesday,25 February 2026 15:00–16:00 New gTLD Program: Next Round Implementation Status Update 16:30–17:30 Universal Acceptance (UA) Community Update 18:00–19:00 Approaching the Finish Line: Update on the ICP-2 Review 19:30–20:30 ICANN Grant Program Update

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[EMEA Webinar] Charting the Path Ahead for ICANN's DNS Abuse Mitigation Efforts
by Fahd Batayneh Jan. 22, 2026

Jan. 22, 2026

Friends and Colleagues, ICANN is organizing a webinar on 28 January 2026 at 12.00 UTC where the webinar will investigate recent developments of ICANN’s work on DNS Abuse mitigation and outline the path ahead. For more information + registration: https://www.icann.org/en/engagement-calendar/details/icann-webinar-series-f… Thank you, Fahd Batayneh ICANN [cid:image001.png@01DC8BA2.C0BA7440]

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ICANN DNSSEC and Security Workshop for the ICANN Community Forum
by Layal Jebran Jan. 14, 2026

Jan. 14, 2026

Dear ME Space stakeholders, In cooperation with the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC), we are planning a DNSSEC and Security Workshop for the ICANN85 Community Forum which will be held as a hybrid meeting from 07-12 March 2026 in Mumbai, India, at the Jio World Convention Centre <https://www.jioworldcentre.com/jio-world-convention-centre> in India Standard Time IST (UTC+5:30). This workshop date will be determined once ICANN creates a block schedule for us to follow; we will then request a specific day and time. The DNSSEC and Security Workshop has been a part of ICANN meetings for several years and has provided a forum for both experienced participants and newcomers to meet, present and discuss current and future DNSSEC deployments. For reference, the most recent session was held at the ICANN84 Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 29 October 2025. The presentations and transcripts are available at: https://icann84.sched.com/. The DNSSEC Workshop Program Committee is developing a program for the upcoming meeting. Proposals will be considered for the following topic areas and included if space permits. In addition, we welcome suggestions for additional topics either for inclusion in the ICANN85 workshop, or for consideration for future workshops. 1. Global DNSSEC Activities Panel For this panel, we are seeking participation from those who have been involved in DNSSEC deployment as well as from those who have not deployed DNSSEC but who have a keen interest in the challenges and benefits of deployment, including Root Key Signing Key (KSK) rollover activities and plans. 2. DNSSEC Best Practice Now that DNSSEC has become an operational norm for many registries, registrars, and ISPs, what have we learned about how we manage DNSSEC? What are current best practices around key rollovers? What about algorithm rollovers? Do you use and support DNSKEY Algorithms 13-17? How often do you review your disaster-recovery procedures? Is there operational familiarity within your customer support teams? What operational statistics have been gathered about DNSSEC? Are experiences being documented in the form of best practices, or something similar, for transfer of signed zones? Activities and issues related to DNSSEC in the DNS Root Zone are also desired. 3. DNSSEC Deployment Challenges The program committee is seeking input from those that are interested in implementation of DNSSEC but have general or particular concerns with DNSSEC. In particular, we are seeking input from individuals that would be willing to participate in a panel that would discuss questions of the following nature: Are there any policies directly or indirectly impeding your DNSSEC deployment? (e.g.,RRR model, CDS/CDNSKEY automation) What are your most significant concerns with DNSSEC, (e.g., complexity, training, implementation, operation, etc.) What do you expect DNSSEC to provide and what does it not deliver? What do you see as the most important trade-offs in deploying (or not deploying) DNSSEC? 4. Security Panel We invite presentations on DNS, DNSSEC, routing and other topics that could affect the security and/or stability of the Internet. Especially interested in implementation issues, challenges, opportunities, and best practices related to: Emerging threats that could impact the security and/or stability of the Internet DoH and DoT RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) BGP routing and secure implementations MANRS (Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security) Browser security – DNS, DNSSEC, DoH Email and DNS-related security – DMARC, DKIM, TLSA, etc… If you are interested in participating, please send a brief (1-3 sentences) description of your proposed presentation to dnssec-security-workshop(a)icann.org <mailto:dnssec-security-workshop@icann.org> by 30 January 2026. Thank you, Dan and Kathy On behalf of the DNSSEC Workshop Program Committee: Gautam Akiwate, Stanford University Steve Crocker, Edgemoor Research Institute Mark Elkins Layal Jebran, Moubarmij Ram Mohan, Identity Digital Russ Mundy, Tislabs Peter Thomassen, deSEC Yoshiro Yoneya Dan York, ISOC

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ICANN Launches Webinar Series for Potential 2026 Round Applicants
by Fahd Batayneh Jan. 10, 2026

Jan. 10, 2026

https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-launches-webinar-serie… This month, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will hold two informational webinars<https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/en/resources/webinarspresentations/2026> in advance of the opening of the New Generic Top-Level Domains (gTLD) Program: 2026 Round. Both sessions will be recorded and include time for questions and answers. The two webinars are meant to build foundational knowledge of the program. Potential applicants, community members, and other interested parties are welcome to attend. Webinar #1 - Introduction to the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round 20 January, 08:00 UTC This 60-minute session is designed to equip those who are new to the domain name industry and the New gTLD Program. The course will cover everything from gTLDs to how applications are processed and the purpose of each evaluation stage. Register here: Introduction to the New gTLD Program: 2026 Round<https://icann.zoom.us/meeting/register/4PKRxv0TT_-HddH6R2s2eA#/registration> Webinar #2 - 2026 Round New gTLD Applicant Journey Overview 27 January, 16:00 UTC This 90-minute session will provide an end-to-end view of gTLD application processing stages and milestones and create context for ICANN community members and applicants to understand the requirements of the application process, and the role(s) different groups play throughout. Register here: 2026 Round New gTLD Applicant Journey Overview<https://icann.zoom.us/meeting/register/ClHEHJAYTN2i1UK5umhk6g#/registration> To prepare applicants and community members for the program opening, ICANN org has created resources in a variety of formats including FAQs, topic overviews, and more. All are available on the New gTLD Program website<https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/en>.

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Invitation to Join ME Space Charter review Working Group
by Amin Hacha Jan. 7, 2026

Jan. 7, 2026

Dear Colleagues in the Middle East, I hope this message finds you well. We would like to invite you to take part in a Working Group that will review and advance the ME Space Charter and related materials. Our goal is to take more active and coordinated steps in our regional space activities, and your experience and perspectives will be highly valued. These steps build on the discussions during the ME Space gathering meeting at ICANN84. If you are interested in joining the Working Group, please confirm your interest *by 5 January 2026.* The proposed timetable is as follows: - *First Working Group meeting:* Tuesday, 6 January 2026 - *Scope of work:* The Group will draft a Process Manual and review all chapters of the ME Charter, including comments and feedback received from the community - *First community update:* During the first week of February 2026 We are looking forward to your contribution and to working together toward positive and practical outcomes for the Middle East space community. Kind regards, *On Behalf of the ME Space co-Chairs* Amine Hacha ME Space co-Chair

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